ARLINGTON, Texas — Ole Miss has been down this road before.

Have a few good years, maybe even a great one, and then start the slide back toward mediocrity. It’s a cycle that has repeated itself over and over since the program’s glory years in the 1960s.

Ole Miss has won eight of its last nine bowl games, and 20 times overall.

Only once in the past 40 years, however, has the program made it to a bowl more than two years in a row. That was from 1997-2000.

After beating Oklahoma State 21-7 on Saturday for its second consecutive victory in the AT&T Cotton Bowl, Ole Miss is at the peak of another high cycle. It reached a traditional January bowl for the first time since 1970-71. The next challenge for the historically inconsistent program is to make a third straight trip, get a foothold among the Southeastern Conference’s elite, and avoid slipping backward yet again.

“The program was down the first two years when I was here,” senior defensive back Marshay Green said. “Coach (Houston) Nutt made a promise to everybody. That was, if we stick to the plan we’ll play in a bowl game and we’ll win a bowl game. We stuck to the plan, and that’s what’s happened.”

Nutt’s two seasons in Oxford have certainly been the best since Eli Manning left for the NFL. The Rebels went 14-32 from 2004-07, with no bowl appearances. In 2008 and 2009, they’re 18-8 with two bowl wins.

Ole Miss has yet to win the SEC West, but has become a strong contender. Defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix said that’s the sort of thing that feeds on itself the more it happens.

“Coach Nutt has done a great job with the preparation and balancing fun and work,” Nix said. “The thing you hope shows up is the impact on recruiting. You hope more and more kids see a chance to be a part of something.”

After Saturday’s victory ended the football season, Nutt and his coaching staff will now turn their attention to college football’s second season — recruiting. They’ll have to replace 27 seniors, including 11 of whom started in the Cotton Bowl. Quarterback Jevan Snead, a junior, also faces a decision on whether to turn pro or stick around for his senior year.

Snead threw 20 interceptions in 2009 after a standout sophomore season made him an early-season Heisman Trophy candidate. Snead was 13-of-23 for 168 yards, with no touchdowns and three interceptions in the Cotton Bowl. He also took a hard hit following one of the interceptions and left the game for several series.

If Snead doesn’t come back to Oxford next season, he’ll likely be replaced by freshman Nathan Stanley. Stanley filled in when Snead went to the bench in the Cotton Bowl and went 2-for-7 for 3 yards, with one interception.

Although Stanley didn’t play particularly well, he said the experience will benefit him. He had thrown only 16 passes before the Cotton Bowl.

“It’s definitely going to help,” Stanley said. “It’s just a lot more experience. Definitely a good experience for me to have in a big game, a bowl game, especially in a stadium like this. It’s just for the better and only helps me. I’m ready now.”

The Rebels were able to pull out the victory against Oklahoma State because Dexter McCluster ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns. McCluster, though, is a senior, and his departure for the NFL will create a gaping hole in the offense.

McCluster was the first player in SEC history to have 1,000 yards rushing and 500 receiving in the same season, and also became the first player to win back-to-back Cotton Bowl MVP awards since SMU’s Doak Walker did it in 1948 and ’49.

*

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com